Fewer homeowners underwater as home prices rise

Published: Wednesday, June 12, 2013 at 3:15 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, June 12, 2013 at 3:15 p.m.

The number of Sarasota-Manatee homeowners who are upside down on their homes continues to shrink, analyst CoreLogic reported Wednesday.

A total of 58,914 residential properties -- or 31.8 percent of those with mortgages in the two counties -- had more owed on their loans than the homes were worth in the first quarter of 2013.

That was down from 62,717 properties, or 33.6 percent, in CoreLogic's revised report for fourth-quarter 2012.

The Sarasota-Manatee region ranked 29th out of the 168 metro areas covered in the first quarter.

The number of local homes in negative equity peaked at 99,275, or 49 percent, in the fourth-quarter of 2009, according to CoreLogic.

An additional 6,565 local homes, or 3.5 percent, were in "near-negative" equity -- with less than 5 percent equity -- as of March 31, compared with 6,655 homes, or 3.6 percent, three months earlier.

Rising home prices are helping homeowners regain equity. Negative equity occurs when values decline or mortgage debt increases, or because of some combination of the two factors.

"The negative equity burden continues to recede across the country, thanks largely to rising home prices," said CoreLogic president/CEO Anand Nallathambi. "We are still far below peak home-price levels, but tight supplies in many areas, coupled with continued demand for single-family homes, should help us close the gap."

Among the nation's largest metro areas, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater posted the highest percentage of underwater homes, at 41.1 percent. Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall was second, at 40.7 percent.

<p>The number of Sarasota-Manatee homeowners who are upside down on their homes continues to shrink, analyst CoreLogic reported Wednesday.</p><p>A total of 58,914 residential properties -- or 31.8 percent of those with mortgages in the two counties -- had more owed on their loans than the homes were worth in the first quarter of 2013.</p><p>That was down from 62,717 properties, or 33.6 percent, in CoreLogic's revised report for fourth-quarter 2012.</p><p>The Sarasota-Manatee region ranked 29th out of the 168 metro areas covered in the first quarter.</p><p>The number of local homes in negative equity peaked at 99,275, or 49 percent, in the fourth-quarter of 2009, according to CoreLogic.</p><p>An additional 6,565 local homes, or 3.5 percent, were in "near-negative" equity -- with less than 5 percent equity -- as of March 31, compared with 6,655 homes, or 3.6 percent, three months earlier.</p><p>Rising home prices are helping homeowners regain equity. Negative equity occurs when values decline or mortgage debt increases, or because of some combination of the two factors.</p><p>"The negative equity burden continues to recede across the country, thanks largely to rising home prices," said CoreLogic president/CEO Anand Nallathambi. "We are still far below peak home-price levels, but tight supplies in many areas, coupled with continued demand for single-family homes, should help us close the gap."</p><p>Among the nation's largest metro areas, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater posted the highest percentage of underwater homes, at 41.1 percent. Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall was second, at 40.7 percent.</p><p>Florida reported the nation's second-highest percentage of upside-down residential properties at 38.1 percent, below the 40.2 percent three months earlier. Nevada was highest at 45.4 percent.</p><p>Nationwide, 9.7 million homes -- or 19.8 percent of those with a mortgage -- remained in negative equity in the first quarter.</p><p>On the other side, 850,000 U.S. properties returned to positive equity in the quarter.</p><p>"During the past year, 1.7 million borrowers have regained positive equity," said Mark Fleming, chief economist for the Irvine, Calif.-based data provider. "We expect the pent-up supply that falling negative equity releases will moderate price gains in many of the fast-appreciating markets this spring."</p>